My first hammock night in the backcountry

[Mikey von]

I have been backpacking since I was 6, pretty much non-stop since 16. Most of nights have been under the stars on an old school thermarest self-inflator and a decent bag. As I have gotten older, 41 now, I began sleeping less comfortably, like not at all some nights and that is no fun. I bought a heavy but comfy Exped syn mat 9 lw, I winter camp as well so it keeps my toasty. It helps but still not the greatest and my carpal tunnel and shoulders still hurt.

Hammock camping looks comfy for old sore shoulders and joints and tried it out on my last trip with my boys a few days ago. I stole my wife's hammock from the yard and took a some extra paracord and dove right in (I figured if something didn't work out I would inflate my mat and try to sleep like normal). The hammock is about 8 foot long and has no ridge line. My sleeping pad did not really fit in it very well and it was not that cold so I went without. I froze!!! lol. Temps were high 30's. I felt that I was more comfortable though when I was able to not be frozen. I am hooked and will be looking for a better setup for my next trip!

Here are a few pics:

P6110464.jpgP6110465.jpgP6110467.jpgP6110477.jpgP6110483.jpgP6120494.jpgP6120495.jpgP6120496.jpg

[Campdavid]

You will be blown away by the comfort of a longer hammock (11') and some under insulation. I'm 47 and suffer from psoriatic arthritis....sleep in my hammock at home most nights not just on the trail. As crazy as it sounds, it really is a comfortable way to sleep.

I'm primarily a car, canoe or kayak camper so weight means very little to me (portaging can be a bit rough but most are under a mile so no biggie). If you want specific advice from a car camper, shoot me a PM.

You will get tons of great advice on this forum but most of it will focus on light weight options for backpacking....for some reason most folks round here are gram weenies. :-)


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[Mikey von]

Thanks for the response. I mostly backpack, but we do plenty of car camping and canoe as well.

I cannot wait to try out a larger hammock.

[sqidmark]

For future reference. Generally speaking, lighter (softer) hammock fabrics will allow for more shoulder squeeze than heavier (firmer) fabrics. Without knowing your height/weight, I'll just tentatively add that Dutch's 11' netless hexon 1.6 is a pretty good compromise between weight and firmness. It's certainly a good starting point as it's also fairly inexpensive.

[HHI Hanger]

Now that is a GREAT hammock spot.. Two trees next to the water with views in both directions.... I give it a 10! The kids look like they are having a BLAST!

[g2outdoors]

Your first time is always the best, right

[Mikey von]

For future reference. Generally speaking, lighter (softer) hammock fabrics will allow for more shoulder squeeze than heavier (firmer) fabrics. Without knowing your height/weight, I'll just tentatively add that Dutch's 11' netless hexon 1.6 is a pretty good compromise between weight and firmness. It's certainly a good starting point as it's also fairly inexpensive.

Thanks for the recommendation. I am 5'9" 185 lbs.

[Mikey von]

Now that is a GREAT hammock spot.. Two trees next to the water with views in both directions.... I give it a 10! The kids look like they are having a BLAST!

Eiler Lake - Thousand Lakes Wilderness, just North of Lassen National Park. My backyard, we about 20-25 minutes to the trail head and make many trips a year. The only bummer is the mosquitoes.

All 3 have been done multiple trips, but it was my first time taking all 3 boys at once! I was heavy! My oldest, 11 years old, is able to carry 90-100% of his own gear. I only had some of his dinner and emergency supplies. P6110438.jpg

[Mikey von]

My second night in a hammock in the backcountry was pretty much like the first. I froze! I took a whole mess of kids (my boys and 3 of my sisters kids. One of them and my sister thought it would be OK to leave their sleeping pad in the truck, so I gave up mine. It was my first night in my sld hammock. It is quite comfy. My Shepherd Dog kept me warm much of the night! IMG_20160701_221439_01.jpgr

[Foxpoop]

Man, if you made it through 2 nights in that setup, you are going to LOVE hammock camping when you get better gear.
I'll second the above comments. Get a Dutch 11' netless 1.6 Hexon hammock with a ridgeline, continuous loops and a set of 10' poly tree straps. This will only be around $60 TYD. Use your pad at first and see if that works for you. You will most likely want to get an underquilt eventually, but some stick with pads.
Paracord is rough on trees and will stretch through the night leaving you much lower to the ground than you started (thus, the tree straps).
You can suspend your hammock with nothing more than the continuous loops and the tree straps. Search here for Becket hitch and/or J-Bend.
Welcome to the madness.


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